Salvator Doppel Bock | Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG

Notes / Commercial Description:
This unfiltered bottom fermented double bock beer has been brewed for over 375 years--always adhering to the original recipe. The taste is unmistakable, with its smooth chocolate flavor, robust dark caramel maltiness and a light note of hops--providing a nice intensity on the palate.

Reviews by tonytuffnuts:

Was excited to find this 6er. Pours smoothly into my glass with the ambery-red body of a scotch that's been soaking for ages in an oak barrel. Also, a fleeing 3/4 finger head.
Smells sweet and fruity. Makes me think of caramel brittle and gummy peaches. The malt hides underneath this until I swirl the offering around the glass a bit, which also unveils a grain alcohol scent.
Its hits my tongue first w sweetness, followed quickly by dense caramel malt. The alcohol politely bites at the back of my mouth, and I'm left with a fruity sweetness (muted raspberry?).
Great offering as usual. Amazingly drinkable for a Dopplebock of 8% ABV. It's a great sum of parts that made a great companion for a 3 hour tailgate at the Pats game this past weekend!
Looks like a scotch ale, smells like a scotch ale, tastes like a scotch ale! I guess there's a bit more alcohol & it's a bit heavier than a scotch ale, but I would've had trouble blindly categorizing this one.

A - Salvator pours delicately cloudy but maintains it's brilliant color that starts with a golden orange color at the base, gradually shifting to a burnt orange in the more volumetric top where it's sturdy tan head slowly plateaus to leave little gobs of lace.

S - Smelling like wort brewing, Salvator consists of dense bread, bold caramel sweetness, toasted Vienna malts, and a perfect absence of hops. This is the kind of doppelbock aroma dreams are made of!

M - Smooth and medium-full bodied with a lower carbonation level and almost creamy, sweet finish, I can't stress enough the importance and impact of how malty but balanced and not cloying this doppelbock is.

O - Malt lovers rejoice! This. Is. Exceptional. Paulaner's Salvator is one of the kings of the doppelbock kingdom and for good reason; perfect malt balance so as to not be overly sweet but still keep a fuller bodied feel that washes down with delicious bready complexity and a smooth finish.

Nice little gem that surprised me. I am a fan of malt and this one hit me very well. A lot of malt but it really comes across as light and drinkable. I was really surprised that is was 7.9% ABV, it did not come across as that high. Full of flavor but very smooth and drinkable. Excellent beer that I hope to keep in my regular rotation.

T: Was accurate for a German Dopple, it was smooth and easy to drink. We drank at 57F (12 C)so the extra alchol wasnt apparent.

M: I smelled the and tasted like a heavy bier but the mothfeel was light, the appreance tricks the eye.

O: This is one of great Dopplebock's, but drink it just below room tempature to get the wonderful real experience. Grabbed one from the fridge after our tasting and the cold (42 F) changed the taste, it needs to warm to truely be at its best.

11.2oz bottle (best before 9/14, oops, didn't see that before getting it from my local beer store) poured into an Ayinger dobbel bock glass
A: Hazy caramel color with a one-finger head
S: Caramel, wheat, bread, brown sugar
T: Matches the nose; a bit sweet, definitely malt-heavy but tasty
M:Medium-bodied, somewhat sweet
O: A good example of the style. Tasty, but a touch sweet... if that were toned down just a bit it would go from very good to great. Still worth a try

11 oz. bottle poured into a regular ol' pint glass (all I had available at the time). Best by date of August 2016, so this is still relatively fresh.

Pours a murky dark red with a thin, quickly dissipating head. Smells of raisins and caramel malts. Slight alcohol bite is noticeable as well. The taste is a nice blend of caramel malts, raisins, toffee, and bread. Alcohol is a bit more noticeable here than it is with the real titans of the style like Weihenstephaner Korbinian. Mouth feel is medium.

Overall, a very solid doppel bock, and certainly a classic. I actually enjoyed this more than Ayinger Celebrator, but that bottle may have been a bit oxidized or something given everyone else's rave reviews.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian remains my favorite of this style. A bit smoother and more luxurious than Salvator.

I am fixated on doppelbocks. I try every one I can get my hands on. I hate the mentality that says this is only a winter beer or a spring beer...probably invented by some hop loving, fruit infused, pseudo beer connoisseur from a hipster town. I consider this the benchmark doppelbock which all others are made to compare to. Excellent aroma, medium brown with good head characteristics. Mild carbonation. Best enjoyed by having only one in a session (and make it your first one). Rich, full flavor. I have been a long time fan of Salvator and prefer it over Celebrator initially because of the price (and I don't know what to do with all those cute little goat decorations you get on each bottle of Celebrator), and now because of the richer flavor (more Munich malt presence and slightly sweeter) Salvator has over Celebrator. Still left some room in my score for another dopplebock to challenge.

Has to be one of the best doppel bocks out there,oured a nice deep copper color with nice slight off-white creamy head,smell is very appetizing of alcohol and sweet caramel and slight burnt notes.Taste is sweetish of toffee and alcohol,and slight fruitiness.To me this is one of the standards of doppel bocks out there.

Appearance: a deep amber pour that seems moderately lively and has a medium tan head. The head fades down to a ring after a few minutes.

Smell: the nose is decent but subtle. some roasted malts are present and there is a dark molasses sweetness with hints of caramel and raw sugars.

Taste: malty and sweet up front. again, highlighted by molasses and caramel. the sweetness lingers very long and pleasantly. the finish maintains it rich sweetness towards the finish but also ends on a bitter, black licorice note. very pleasant.

Mouthfeel: very full and rich. a sort of heavy sweetness that leaves sticky trails of pleasure on the back of my tongue. an excellent, long-lingering mouthfeel.

This beer is high gravity in disguise! Pours a transparent amber with a lively light tan head. Smells sweet and malty. Taste is dominated by malts, with only the slightest touch of hops. Very smooth for such a strong beer. This could be a good session beer if you desired a shorter session!

This is a very toffee, caramel, and sugary concoction. I bit too much for me. It took me a long time to drink. The sweetness was too much. This beer reminds me so much of caramel popcorn. The caramel part that is. I happened to be eating (regular) popcorn while drinking the beer though too. Haha.

LOOK: (3.5 / 5) Pours about 22-24*SRM/L, a deep caramel-mahagony colour with some nice garnet highlights when held to the light. Somewhat hazy, though not opaque (similar level of hazy as a kellerbier). The head was large, cream-coloured, and rocky in texture. It faded a bit too fast, leaving a decent cap and some lacing. Noticeable legs, either from a high FG or alcohol content or both.

SMELL: (4.0 / 5) Obviosuly, it was dominated by malts. This had some toastier and caramelized-sweet notes, but the real loadstone was the dark-fruit melanoidins. These reminded me of plums, with a bit of dried fruit gumminess like in dates or prunes. No real hop aroma and a cleaner yeast profile. Some alcohol warmth and a very slight hint of perfume/flowers.

FLAVOUR: (3.5 / 5) As with the nose, the melanoidins are central. Sweetness is really strong, and it errors towards being a bit too much for me (good for the style though). No real charred flavors, a slight coffee and chocolate note is added to the background flavours of toast and caramel. Some moderate hop bitterness (no real flavour) shows up and saves finish; yet, it is still a much sweeter brew. Some pleasant alcoholic warmth rounds it out.

FEEL: (4.0 / 5) Body was medium-full, though that was lighter than I would have thought given the rich taste and smell. Lighter carbonation produces a somewhat syrupy feel, despite the lighter body. This was a bit similar to the rich syrup feel of a scotch ale.

DRINK: (3.0 / 5) Not surprisingly, given that this was originally brewed by the monks to be a meal in a glass or liquid bread, it was not a highly sessionable brew. Rich and sweet, it's better for sipping on a cold night.

I think it might pair well with some desserts, owing to its sweeter flavours. I think it would add thinging interesting to a creme brulee or maybe a cheese cake with a caramel topping or something like that.

A: A medium copper colored beer with brilliant clarity. The head is made of low fine, off-white bubbles.

S: A moderate, crusty bread malt smells. There is a medium-low earthy, spice hops note and a moderate alcohol sweetness. Initially there is a moderate, metallic off-aroma that blends with the malt but blows off after a minute. There is a moderate plum fruit ester.

T: A malt driven beer with a decent balance of hops bitterness. There is very little hop flavor, what is there is a spicy Noble hops. A good amount of malt with crusty bread and toast melanoidin character. The balance is moderately towards the sweet but still has a decent balance. The finish is of a little sweet with a fruity lingering aftertaste.

M: A somewhat creamy beer with a medium-full bodied beer with a medium level of carbonation. A moderate amount of alcohol warmth.

O: A malt driven beer with some dark stone fruit character, on the paler end of the Double Bock style so a touch of hops aroma and flavor are in there. A very good example of the style, although this bottle it a little old it is still a wonderful beer.

A: Clear, brilliant, reddish chestnut color with a two finger light beige colored head. Pillowy, with fine bubbles, and a collar persists after the head dissipates.

S: Sweet caramel malt with a hint of earthy, slightly spicy hops. Hint of alcohol under the sweetness.

T: Smooth and very malt-forward as expected. Sweet caramel malt flavors drenched in fruity notes. The fruity sweetness hits first with caramel and toffee flavors rising immediately after. Hints of grain and alcohol occasionally, although for 7.9% it's hidden very well. Rum, figs, white raisins, sherry. Somewhat vinous at times. Lightly bitter on the aftertatse. A lot going on here.

M: Great feel to this beer. Full bodied with a nice soft roundness. Slick and slightly viscous. Medium carbonation.

D: This is a great, easy drinking doppelbock.

Overall, a very deep flavor profile, but not quite as much as some others in the category, and devoid of the deeper roasty flavors of some others. But, very, very nice nonetheless. This is an understated beer that doesn't demand your attention - it's very easy to drink and enjoy casually - but if you do pay attention there's a lot going on. Plenty enough to keep my palate entertained.